


decisions, decisions

by gh0steses



Category: BlazBlue
Genre: M/M, also like. nu dies. does anyone even. like her or, not. quite sure how accurate either of those warnings are.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-02
Updated: 2017-06-02
Packaged: 2018-11-07 22:32:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11068464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gh0steses/pseuds/gh0steses
Summary: “You're the only one that make sure that impulsive idiot gets back here alive. He's at the NOL branch in Kagutsuchi. Just get it done.”





	decisions, decisions

**Author's Note:**

> I mostly just got tired of looking at this. it. sucks

Ragna sprints downstairs, panic coursing through his veins. A few hours ago, Kokonoe called him to her lab and told him that Kagura had left for Kagutsuchi that morning, and she didn't have much confidence that he’d come back safe. She told Ragna the bare minimum; “You're the only one that make sure that impulsive idiot gets back here alive.” When asked why, her only response was, “He's at the NOL branch in Kagutsuchi. Just get it done.”

All he focuses on now is getting to Kagura as soon as possible; he can't let himself think about what would happen if he was too late, if he let Kagura die--

Soon, he can hear the sound of steel clashing against steel and it eases his horror, if only slightly. There's something that he feels he should be afraid of more than Kagura dying. His lungs are starting to burn from the dry, seithrous air, but the entrance to the Cauldron is ten feet away and he can't let up now. Ragna skids to a stop just outside the door, trying his best to keep his breathing quiet as he peers in.

His fear was not in vain; when he sees who Kagura’s fighting, his blood runs cold.

Kagura and Nu exchange devastating blows, and when she knocks him out of range, he blocks her swords with surprising accuracy. He gets close again and swings his sword in a wide arc that forces Nu to the ground with a spray of blood, and Ragna is suddenly aware of how often he forgets about Kagura’s capacity for violence. Unfortunately, but expectedly, the prime field device rises again and the wound mends in a matter of seconds, not hindering her in the slightest.

Ragna knows the advantage Kagura has won't last forever, but he also realizes that distracting Kagura could get him killed just as easily as doing nothing would, so he makes himself stay put. Not to mention the fact that he really doesn't want to get any closer to Nu if he doesn't have to, but Kagura’s life takes precedence over Ragna’s fear. Distance and noise from the fight distort their words, but the enraged yell Kagura gives as he charges forward gives Ragna a vague idea of what the topic of conversation is. A sword grazes his arm as he kicks her, heel barely catching the side of her face as she leans back to avoid the hit. She laughs, slashing at him and pushing him back, causing him to stumble, fall, and skid almost all the way to the other side of the room.

Given this minute opening, Ragna bolts in, physically placing himself between Kagura and Nu and blocking her swords with Blood Scythe. He can't suppress the worry and fear creeping into his mind, so he focuses instead on his anger; at himself for letting Kagura do this, at Kagura for so recklessly risking his life, at Nu- first and foremost by a wide margin- for so consistently and royally screwing him over any time he was unlucky enough to run into her. “Didn't I tell you to stay away from her?!” Ragna shouts over his shoulder when her attacks let up, turning back just in time to block another sword. Now isn't exactly the time for admonishment.

“I… had intel that she and Hazama were here,” Kagura responds as he shakily gets up, using is sword to steady himself, his voice laced with pain. He was lucky enough to get away with a few shallow cuts and torn clothes, but there's a more nasty looking laceration spanning his chest that Ragna’s worried about. “I couldn't let her get away.”

Nu says something, but to Ragna it's distant, and likely not something he wants to hear. “Like _hell_ you couldn't! You're gonna get your dumb ass killed. Either get out, or stay back.”

“Don't ignore me, Ragna!” shrieks Nu as she rushes forward with a sickening grin, effectively drawing his attention to her. He swings at her, but she blocks, her eight swords acting as a shield and shaking under the force of the strike. Ragna takes the opportunity to firmly plant his foot in her stomach, shoving her back a few feet. It knocks the breath out of her for a moment, but isn't anywhere close to enough to ward her off. “He's in my way. Why are you protecting him, Ragna?”

It's Ragna’s turn to close the distance between them, yelling in rage as he slashes blindly at her. “As if that's any of your goddamn business,” he snarls when their blades come to a deadlock, and he pushes harder to force her backwards so he can strike again.

Nu parries effortlessly, hovering backwards and out of his reach. “But you're mine!” she wails, summoning a multitude of swords and sending them toward Ragna, who can scarcely avoid them all. “You can’t do this to me, Ragna! What could you possibly want from this miserable world now? We were supposed to destroy everything _together_.” In the blink of an eye, she’s right in front of him, trying to grasp at his collar and pull him closer as he reels back, face contorted in terror. “We can still do it, Ragna!” Nu says in an almost affectionate way that makes Ragna’s stomach lurch into the astral plane. “You can’t run from me this time.”

“Quit talking to me like that, dammit!” Gritting his teeth in pain as her swords slice at his arms, Ragna swings his sword down at her legs, severing the regeneration tanks in her armor. The tanks hiss as they depressurize, greenish liquid leaking down over Nu’s legs. She immediately withdraws, willing yet more swords his way. “ _God_ ,” he sighs in exasperation, more to himself than anyone else. “Do you ever get tired of this?” Ragna realizes it’s probably overkill when he makes Blood Scythe change form, but it’s the quickest way to get this over with- she’s higher up than he can normally reach- and so thoroughly destroying her would make him feel better at least somewhat. He also realizes that he probably picked an inopportune time to do so, as he has to ward off her projectiles with the Azure Grimoire and that has a _significantly lower margin of error_.

Scratch that, it was _absolutely_ the wrong time, since he misses one and it pierces his abdomen, pointed at an angle that makes it go straight through his liver to his lungs. A sharp gasp passes his lips and his knees start to give, but his hands tighten around the blade of his scythe and he steps forward, slicing Nu out of the air. A few more swords run him through before she hits the ground, already dead- he cut her torso in half, starting in the middle of her shoulder and extending all the way down to the bottom of her ribcage. Ragna wobbles unsteadily, leaving Blood Scythe embedded in the ground as he collapses.

-

Ragna's pretty sure he was unconscious for a second, because the next thing he knows is that he's face down on the floor and Kagura’s kneeling beside him, shaking his shoulder. “Thank god,” Kagura sighs in relief when Ragna reacts, wincing at the pain shooting through his torso. “Babe, I'm sorry--”

“Can… can we leave _before_ you turn into a sentimental idiot on me?” Ragna manages to mumble, pushing himself to sit up, hands slipping a little in the pool of blood that formed under him. It  feels like someone put his guts in a blender, and the fact that he can feel blood creeping up the back of his throat isn't exactly comforting. He has to stretch a little to reach Blood Scythe’s handle, and thankfully the wounds from where he was skewered are fairly small, or his intestines would be on the floor. It takes more effort than it should to pry the weapon out of the metal flooring, and Ragna wills it back into sword form before attempting to get up. He almost stands for just a few seconds before the world tilts dangerously to the left, forcing him back to the ground. With a pained groan, he leans against Kagura's shoulder and clutches his head, trying not to start coughing up blood as the room spins.

Kagura looks at Ragna with obvious concern, wrapping an arm around him to keep him from trying to get up again. “I don't think you can walk like this.”

“I _can_ ,” he huffs, “I’m--”

“Ragna. Sunshine. Sweetheart. Babe. Light of my life. Let me help. It doesn't look like you're in any condition to walk. Is it alright if I carry you?” asks Kagura softly, hand ghosting over Ragna’s back. Getting him away from Nu as quickly as possible is the absolute least Kagura feels he can do to thank Ragna for saving him.

Ragna's face reddens in embarrassment as he sighs and mentally resolves to kick Kagura's ass if he ever strings a bunch of pet names together like that again. He doesn't even have to look at Kagura to know he's injured because of how he reeks of blood. “You're hurt too, but fine. Let's just… get out of here first and talk later. Relius or Hazama could show up any minute now and…” He glances at Nu uneasily, as if expecting her to get up again, but she lies motionless in a slowly expanding pool of blood. He can't bring himself to admit that even being around her corpse is making him paranoid, so he settles for, “They're definitely gonna be pissed.”

It takes Kagura a moment to remember he'd been injured in the first place, especially when confronted the more concerning pallor Ragna’s beginning to take on. With all the adrenaline- and, if he was honest, fear- from the fight, the fact that he was hurt was pushed to the side should he have needed to come to Ragna's aid. The cuts didn't seem that serious, but now that they’re brought up, he realizes that a sizable portion of his chest is slick with blood. “You're worried about me being hurt after you just got impaled, what, _six_ times trying to protect me from my _own_ bad decision?” Standing, he scoops Ragna up, taking Blood Scythe off his belt so that neither of them accidentally get stabbed. He presses a kiss to Ragna’s temple as he walks out. “Are you capable of worrying about yourself?”

Wrapping an arm around Kagura’s neck, Ragna shrugs, laughing a little. It's probably a bad thing, he realizes, that he has to actively remind himself not to lick the blood from Kagura’s chest. Vampirism is a pain. “I guess not. I'll heal from this on my own faster than you will, though. So, even if that isn't fatal,” he says, nodding vaguely towards the biggest cut on Kagura’s chest. “I'm gonna worry about you.” In a matter of seconds, Ragna’s head feels too heavy from the adrenaline, exertion, and blood loss catching up with him.

“I'll be fine--” Kagura becomes aware of the fact that that Ragna’s gone limp in his arms and for a second icy panic takes hold in his chest. His alarm subsides when he feels Ragna’s chest expand as he inhales. “I don't want to think about what you would've let happen to yourself by now if you didn't let anyone care about you,” sighs Kagura to himself, adjusting his arms so Ragna doesn't fall.

-

When Ragna wakes up, it feels like he had Tager’s fist dropped on his head. It feels like his skull in two sizes too small for his brain and he groans as his head throbs, turning and clutching at the empty sheets beside him. Being with Kagura has started to make him feel weird when he wakes up alone, regardless of how seldom the occurrence. A wave of dread washes over him when he remembers what happened earlier, seeming to make itself comfortable in the farthest reaches of his mind as his headache slowly subsides. His thoughts turn to Nu and he decides he can’t stand them any more and slips out of bed, trudging unsteadily toward the door and down the hall to Kagura’s office. “Kagura?” he calls, squinting at the light pouring from the doorway he steadies himself against as his eyes adjust. When it feels less like he's having needles shoved into his eyes, he can see Kagura’s at his desk working on something. Unusual, to say the least. Kagura's chest is also healed, meaning he got help from Celica before coming home.

Kagura glances up from his paperwork, frowning at Ragna a little. “Babe, you shouldn't be up. You need to rest.”

“So do you. Come to bed. We need to talk, anyway.” And, Ragna won't admit it, but he _really_ doesn't want to be left alone right now; Nu still lingers in the back of his thoughts, and it's making him more afraid and sick than he wants to acknowledge.

This isn't difficult decision for Kagura, boyfriend or paperwork; paperwork loses consistently. Ragna leans against him a little as they make their way back to his room, hooking his arm around Kagura’s waist. He closes the door behind them, and they sit together on his bed. Ragna sighs heavily, running a hand through his bangs and the way his silver hair catches the moonlight distracts Kagura a little. “Now, mind telling me why you decided to go fight Nu after I told you at least a dozen times _not_ to?” He can't muster much anger through the haziness he feels, but he gives Kagura a look that makes his heart turn to lead.

Kagura takes Ragna's hands in his own and intertwines their fingers. “I told you. I asked Hibiki to find her. I'm not going to say I was right in doing what I did, but…” Kagura’s voice has a steely edge to it. “I couldn't just let her leave in good conscience after all the shit she put you through.” His gaze drops to their hands and his voice softens. “I'm sorry I didn't listen to you, Ragna. If I had, you wouldn't have had to bail me out like that.” He pauses, contemplates mentioning Nu before deciding to chance it. “Or… be around her.” Kagura glances up at Ragna and there's a distant look in his eyes that makes him feel worse. “Babe--”

It takes Ragna a minute to respond, because he's back at the Cauldron under the NOL branch in Kagutsuchi and Nu is killing him again and it's all he can think about until he snaps himself out of it. Hands pull Kagura closer by his mantle, and suddenly his face is at most an inch away from Ragna's. One of his hands comes to rest on Kagura's cheek, tilting his head so that they look into each other's eyes. “Listen. Promise me you won't do something stupid like that again,” he murmurs, and though he's quiet, there's a certain captivating intensity in his voice that causes Kagura to forget how to breathe for a minute. “Kagura. Tell me _right now_ that you won't. Please. You have no goddamn _clue_ how much you scared me.” He tries to blink back tears, and his voice wavers ever so slightly.

Kagura's chest aches. He's never seen Ragna like this and he doesn't know if he could bear it a second time. “I won't, sunshine. Promise,” he breathes, turning his head to kiss Ragna’s palm before moving back and brushing away the stray tears that rolled down Ragna's cheeks. A soft sigh leaves Kagura's lips and he pulls Ragna into his lap, wrapping his arms around him and pressing a kiss to his forehead. “I wanted to make sure she couldn't hurt you again, babe.”

“And somehow you managed to do the exact opposite,” Ragna snorts humorlessly, returning the embrace. “I appreciate the sentiment, but don’t pull that shit again.”

“Okay, okay, I get it,” Kagura says with a grin, ruffling Ragna’s hair a bit. “I'm just glad you're okay.”

Ragna rolls his eyes, but a small smile creeps onto his face. “You're too soft.” Even though he doesn’t say it back, Kagura knows he returns the sentiment.

“ _I'm_ soft?” Kagura can't keep himself from laughing. “Pretty sure I'm not the one that drove my worst nightmare into the ground because she scratched my boyfriend up a little.”

“That's what you were trying to do, idiot,” Ragna murmurs, pressing his lips to Kagura’s in brief kiss.


End file.
